Newsletter No 33 (October 5th, 2012)

Hi,

I am not sure that we have something for everyone in this newsletter but there is definitely something for you. If you are preparing to travel to some nice place for the weekend or just stay at home and switch off TV, oven, internet and ignore everyone for few hours for the sake of the nice book take a look at what curious book fans were reading and reviewing recently.

It’s an intricate story with lots of unexpected twists and it also makes you wonder what you might do in similar circumstances. This is the sort of book that I can’t get enough of and I just wanted to keep reading more and more. It’s a perfect read.

Longlisted for the Man Booker prize in 2011 and winner of the Arthur C Clarke award, Jane Rogers’ The Testament of Jessie Lamb is a literary work that feels more “female friendly” than many other examples of science fiction I have read in the past. But that is hardly surprising given that the whole story is based around what is happening to women in a world that feels uncomfortably close to our own.

The Good, The Bad and The Multiplex is subtitled What’s Wrong With Modern Movies?, which gives a slightly better idea of what to expect. Kermode discusses his issues with modern cinema, ranging from the multiplex itself, through the lack of projectionists, the so-called “future” that is 3D, why blockbusters are so bad yet make a fortune, the point of film critics, and British cinema.

Stop the Clock by Alison Mercer is a fabulous new book about three women who are growing older and are growing up! There is definitely a difference between the two things! It is an immensely readable book that is likely to appeal to any woman who knows what it is like to go through the highs and the lows of a close friendship.

While not everyone will appreciate it, J. R. Crook is an author whose first novel is a piece of true literary fiction which will establish him immediately as outstandingly skillful writer. With Sleeping Patterns, Crook proves he has both the imagination and the bravery to give us something out of the ordinary, and I’m certainly looking forward to his next endeavor.

The opening line of Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides is “I was born twice: first, as a baby girl on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan in August of 1974.” This intriguing conundrum is explained promptly as we are then informed of the narrator’s ancient genetic mutation…

I’ve just finished reading Better Together, the latest book from Irish author, Sheila O’Flanagan and it has not disappointed in the least. The story is enjoyable and intriguing and the main character is strong and likeable. This book has all the right ingredients for a great read.

After 28 years of happy marriage and three children, Selina’s life in her exquisite house can be considered perfect right up to the moment the police turn up to tell her that her husband’s body has been found in a river. It shouldn’t be possible; he’s supposed to be in Dubai, so how could he have drowned in London?

In 1998, after reading an inspirational travelogue, Ben Kane set out to travel along the Silk Road through Asia on the trail of Alexander the Great. Armed with only a basic grasp of Russian and enough cash to see him through his trip, he set out first for Iran, then moved on to Turkmenistan where he came across something quite remarkable.

You can’t avoid getting older but you can choose whether or not to grow up! That’s the idea behind Christina Hopkinson’s latest book, Just Like Proper Grown-ups. This is a very readable and entertaining story about a group of acquaintances who are all, for different reasons, faced with this troublesome choice.

The Diamond Queen is an exceptional book, of the kind that comes along rarely, and that you feel lucky to have read. There are plenty of excellent royal biographies out there but Andrew Marr takes the traditional biography a step further with a truly interesting, enjoyable and witty book, full of wise and thought-provoking observations.

These novels are aimed at young adults, and you can tell this from the style and language used, but for me the story overrides this – it is gripping, exciting and makes you think, and so it doesn’t matter who the intended audience is.